The Leading Edge

The Leading Edge: Current news and information regarding global warming and climate change. Each report unfolds as the month goes on. So you can come back to the same page and see what is new. The report is finished at the end of the month. Please keep checking back to see the highlights as they unfold.

THE LEADING EDGE

The 'Leading Edge' reports are now open for comments (as of Oct. 31, 2010). You can register via the registration link in the upper right hand corner. All reports have had commenting enabled.

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United States Joint Forces Command, Joint Operating Environment (JOE) report February 18, 2010. While the report is more expansive than the OSS coverage, we highlight a few segments including trends, demographics, economics, energy and climate change factors.

So much for global cooling: 2009 tied for second warmest year in the instrumental record. The Arctic Oscillation was in a strong negative phase this month causing cooler temperatures in North America, Europe and Russia, and unusually warm temperatures in the Arctic, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, North Eastern Russia, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and much of South America.

Understanding the potentials of the law of unintended consequences as we examine what might result from COP15 and/or the adoption of 'Cap & Trade' is as important as understanding the science of climate change and the implications of human caused global warming. Examining the complex mechanisms of 'Cap & Trade' vs. a simple 'Direct Progressive Tax' on CO2 emissions reveals a fatal flaw in the understanding of the advantages of Cap & Trade. In reality, there are no meaningful advantages.

The purpose of this report is to synthesize the most policy-relevant climate science published since the close-off of material for the last IPCC report. The rationale is two-fold. Firstly, this report serves as an interim evaluation of the evolving science midway through an IPCC cycle – IPCC AR5 is not due for completion until 2013. Secondly, and most importantly, the report serves as a handbook of science updates that supplements the IPCC AR4 in time for Copenhagen in December, 2009, and any national or international climate change policy negotiations that follow.

Two stories: 1. British Prime Minister Brown presents the challenge of our time in the clearest terms possible and the "great injustice of climate change". 2. Science teams work to refine the predictability of CO2 and nitrogen in a warming world.

WCC3 - The World Climate Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland for one week included the expert segment (first 3 days) putting together the materials for the expert segment (the last two days) in order to put together and present the conference declaration.

Oslo, Norway: A meeting of climate scientists, government officials and dignitaries involved in work of climate assessment and policy met to discuss COP15, the meeting coming up in Copenhagen. They illustrate in the meeting that even if there is an agreement, it will still result ultimately in a likely temperature increased of 4.5C (8.1F).

The purpose of this report is to provide, for a broad range of audiences, an update of the newest understanding of climate change caused by human activities, the social and environmental implications of this change, and the options available for society to respond to the challenges posed by climate change.

Global Security Combined Assessment: This summary addresses global security implications surrounding likely warming in the event that political will remains stymied by a general lack of understanding of the scientific understanding and confidence levels in the evidence of human caused global warming. It is considerate of implications including the magnitude of impacts including: economic, resource scarcity, human migration and related issues including energy, healthcare, and associated potentials.